Ian Cockburn

Thinking about the next hot growth area in New Orleans? Well...with a combination of residential and commercial...with a great potential for immediete growth take a look at the specific area bordering Claiborne to St Charles, from Napoleon going West. With the expansion of the hospital at Napoleon, and a new doctors office in the process of being finished, I see this area as ripe for opportunity no matter whether you are looking at residential deals or commercial.

There are some large residences that are going for very reasonable dollars along Napoleon..an after effect of an older generation leaving...leaving wide open an opportunity for those willing to invest and rebuild what appear to be alot of solid housing stock.

On the commercial end on Claiborne, there are still some pockets of buildings...some listed with agents and some FSBO's. If I was considering retail...especially for food I would look close at this area...this is prime for the medical crowd that we expect to continue moving back to the new hospital expansion and more.

So alot of times I wish I could be back in the mountains of Tibet, eating fresh Basmati rice smothered in slow cooked curried lamb, and spicy seasoned lentils and chickpeas, variations and computations of buttery chicken, baked tandori chicken breasts large and delicious.

So here I am in the heart of suburbia, New Orleans, specifically in Metarie at 2918 CLEARY AVE, (phone # is 899-7880) and I discover this new place this beautiful Sunday afternoon. This is a plain Jane looking restaurant from the outside...enter into white table cloths, the latest Indian music going on, and what appears to be a simple buffet.

Being the food snob that I am, I questioned the outward appearance. Well....the food was incredible. Not to knock the places downtown that I have paid upwards of $35 for a peice of lamb leftovers, or even the multitude of Pakistani eateries in Chicago, Houston, etc....well this was not the average buffet. Look, when a very large guy with a real Turban is fixing the food, and his wife is serving, there is no time for foo foo service...just excellent quality Indian food...the best I have ever had, West of Mount Everest.

So when you are in the mood for quality Indian food, and want to save about $5 grand on a ticket for the real thing, go see these folks...I don't really know their names yet, but will definitely return...'cause showing houses takes alot out of a Realtor these days...and nothing goes down as good as real, 100% authentic Indian food. Bring me some more of that melt-in-the-mouth roti...delicately baked flaky light melt in the mouth bread...ready to soak up some gravy.... .

So once again, yet another immigrant has come into our midst with another spicy menu to add to what makes New Orleans, well..New Orleans.

One has to really wonder if someone who promotes themselves stating they are a life long resident of a particular area if that makes them more qualified than the other person....I see that statement over used coast to coast.

You see...being a lifelong resident just says one never took the effort to live anywhere else, and your frame of reference is limited to living / working in the same place your entire life.

About myself, I was born north across the pond, then went south, then back north finally to the place I call home...New Orleans... the essence of the best of all places across all the ponds I crossed in my lifetime. With the ability and legalities to live and work anywhere I want on this glorious planet, I chose New Orleans. I chose a place I came to initially as a reprieve from a failed marriage...a place to come to for a few years just to "defrost my brain" from Corporate shaninigans...corporate warmongers throwing my mind like a football during the last superbowl game from state to state, country to country.

So since 1991 I chose to spend these precious years of my life in a place with a soul...and people that love...love to socialize, love to live life to the fullest...laugh death away with the brush of an arm with a hankerchief extension blowing in the winds...winds full of the sound of trumpets on any random day of the week.

If you have ever lived, or spent an extensive period of time in mountains...Tibet, Bolivia...remote areas...where the air and life are thin...one gets to appreciate these places...and the passion of life when you return to your place, New Orleans. For in brief mountain moments...time and space mean nothing. So one's self promotion based on time and space means nothing.

The number of times one used the bathroom in a particular place over a particular time is meaningless. One spends the first 24 years of your life laying a foundation of knowledge that will help define what else you do not know for the rest of your life....then you can begin to understand and interpret the soul of yourself and a place. At the end of the day, it is one's overall life and how you view and treat others...how one understands and listens to others is all that matters.

As a Realtor...it is not how long you are in a place, but how you can help a customer today. What you knew yesterday is worthless for the deal at hand today.

The world post-Katrina will never be the world it once was ever again. The Mexican restaurants are not going away. The Honduran that you are not sure is legal or illegal, but does one heck of a job doing sheetrock? They are here to stay. The monstor houses Uptown with 2 or 3 people living in them? Call them mostly future C's and C's...future Corporate rentals and Condos...for when one is on your 4th wife/husband you don't need 20,000 SF anymore.

The new money...they are rebuilding...100 units at a time. By the time the average Realtor figures out the changes...if they have not travelled and seen what happens in a place like this...they will be finding themselves another occupation and reputation.

So the lifelong resident theory is a theory...a theory based more on fiction than fact. The facts belong to those that continue to strive for excellence through a knowledge base of continually walking, running, driving the same neighbourhoods..week after week..., the facts versus fiction belong to being one of the people rebuilding this glorious home we call New Orleans.

In the past two weeks I have been very busy running around....a running marathon, a residential marathon, and the most tiring....searching for that rapidly dissappearing piece of real estate called a warehouse.

What is happening is as fast as I show a couple clients actively looking for a warehouse, they go under contract. It is like grabbing a handful of dry sand made up of warehouses under 10,000 SF in the New Orleans metropolitian area.

So my bad new report out of New Orleans is that myself and some other fellow Realtors are having a hard time anymore finding a good value on warehouses...which I suspect is going to lead to a building boom...forget the residential...that is a separate boom/economic power house in itself....I'm talking about "a place to store stuff" Whether you are a small contractor, or a developer, or anything ending in "or" or "er" or Dr, you need a place for your equipment, furniture, inventory, etc.

Living in the port city of New Orleans adds fuel to the fire of economic prosperity, for as the Port of New Orleans continues to expand, we are poised for even further demand for warehouse space.

So you may be wondering why I myself am not buying such properties? I'm busy helping other folks do this for now, and getting ready to really promote my RV Park in Mississippi...even if I sell it below its value, I can concentrate more on New Orleans...and run my own warehouse once I find it.

On the way home last Friday, I discovered yet another new restaurant...although missing chairs, the food was fresh, incredibly great and my favorite word....inexpensive!

Like many new eateries in New Orleans, this one takes basic Chinese restaurant fare, combines with old creole recipes and turns it into really good value in a take out atmosphere. It is located North Broad, 1/2 block on and Iberville, in Midcity.

The fried shrimp was incredible...prepared in the manner of sushi grade sweet shrimp, lightly seasoned, and cooked perfectly. The barbacue chicken was moist, full of flavor, and only $3.00 for what would cost you $8.00 anywhere else.

Next time, the best Mexican in the city... .truly a New New Orleans